Glen Farley has covered the Patriots for The Enterprise since the Raymond Berry regime.

National Football League draft notes

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By Glen Farley

Glen Farley has covered sports for The Enterprise since 1978. His time on the Patriots beat dates back to the final year of the Raymond Berry regime, 1989. You could say his roots lie in Foxboro. He once won an award for a piece he wrote on the sod
...

Glen Farley has covered sports for The Enterprise since 1978. His time on the Patriots beat dates back to the final year of the Raymond Berry regime, 1989. You could say his roots lie in Foxboro. He once won an award for a piece he wrote on the sod at Gillette Stadium.

ROLL TIDE: If all four Alabama players are selected in Round 1, the Crimson Tide would become the second school in the common draft era (since 1967) to have at least four players selected in the first round in three consecutive drafts, joining Miami (2001-2004).

MIAMI (FL)

ALABAMA

YEAR

PLAYERS (NO. CHOSEN)

YEAR

PLAYERS (NO. CHOSEN)

2001

LB Dan Morgan (11, CAR)

DT Damione Lewis (12, STL)

WR Santana Moss (16, NYJ)

WR Reggie Wayne (30, IND)

2011

DT Marcell Dareus (3, BUF)

WR Julio Jones (6, ATL)

T James Carpenter (25, SEA)

RB Mark Ingram (28, NO)

2002

T Bryant McKinnie (7, MIN)

TE Jeremy Shockey (14, NYG)

DB Phillip Buchanon (17, OAK)

DB Ed Reed (24, BAL)

DB Mike Rumph (27, SF)

2012

RB Trent Richardson (3, CLE)

DB Mark Barron (7, TB)

DB Dre Kirkpatrick (17, CIN)

LB Dont’a Hightower (25, NE)

2003

WR Andre Johnson (3, HOU)

DE Jerome McDougle (15, PHI)

RB Willis McGahee (23, BUF)

DT William Joseph (25, NYG)

2004

DB Sean Taylor (5, WAS)

TE Kellen Winslow (6, CLE)

LB Jonathan Vilma (12, NYJ)

LB D.J. Williams (17, DEN)

G Vernon Carey (19, MIA)

DT Vince Wilfork (21, NE)

_ _ _

O-LINE: Although a quarterback has been chosen with the No. 1 overall pick in 10 of the past 12 NFL Drafts, that trend may change this year. A pair of tackles – LUKE JOECKEL of Texas A&M and ERIC FISHER of Central Michigan – are among the candidates to be the top choice in 2013.

Since 1967, only three offensive linemen (all tackles) have been chosen with the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft – Pro Football Hall of Famer RON YARY (1968), ORLANDO PACE (1997) and JAKE LONG (2008).

OFFENSIVE LINEMEN – NO. 1 OVERALL SELECTIONS

(SINCE 1967)

YEAR

PLAYER

POSITION

TEAM

COLLEGE

1968

Ron Yary

T

Minnesota

Southern California

1997

Orlando Pace

T

St. Louis

Ohio State

2008

Jake Long

T

Miami

Michigan

_ _ _

AWESOME AGGIE: Texas A&M T LUKE JOECKEL is likely to hear his name called early in Round 1 of the 2013 NFL Draft. If the Kansas City Chiefs select Joeckel, he would become the first Texas A&M player in history to be chosen No. 1 overall.

He would also join four Aggie players who have been chosen in the top five of an NFL Draft since 1967, including Pro Bowl LB VON MILLER, who was the No. 2 overall pick in 2011 by Denver.

TEXAS A&M PLAYERS SELECTED IN TOP FIVE

(Since 1967)

YEAR

PLAYER

NO. CHOSEN

TEAM

1980

Curtis Dickey

5

Baltimore Colts

1985

DE Ray Childress

3

Houston Oilers

1992

LB Quentin Coryatt

2

Indianapolis Colts

2011

LB Von Miller

2

Denver Broncos

_ _ _

CMU STANDOUT: Central Michigan T ERIC FISHER is hoping to join San Francisco 49ers Pro Bowl T JOE STALEY (No. 28, 2007) as the only players in school history to be selected in the first round of the NFL Draft.

_ _ _

TROJAN HORSES: MATT BARKLEY hopes to become the fifth Southern California quarterback to be selected in Round 1 of an NFL Draft since 1967, which would be the most of any college in the common draft era.

USC is currently tied for the most during that span with California and Florida with four first-round QBs.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA QBs SELECTED IN THE FIRST ROUND

(Since 1967)

YEAR

PLAYER

NO. CHOSEN

TEAM

1991

Todd Marinovich (24)

24

L.A. Raiders

2003

Carson Palmer (1)

1

Cincinnati Bengals

2006

Matt Leinart (10)

10

Arizona Cardinals

2009

Mark Sanchez (5)

5

N.Y. Jets

_ _ _

JORDAN RULES: Oregon DE DION JORDAN hopes to become the first defensive player in school history to be chosen in the top 10 of an NFL Draft.

He is likely to become the fifth defender in school history to be drafted in the first round. Most recently, Baltimore chose Pro Bowl DT HALOTI NGATA out of Oregon with the No. 12 overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft.

OREGON DEFENDERS SELECTED IN THE FIRST ROUND

(All-Time)

YEAR

PLAYER

NO. CHOSEN

TEAM

1968

DB Jim Smith

12

Washington Redskins

1976

DB Mario Clark

18

Buffalo Bills

1996

DB Alex Molden

11

New Orleans Saints

2006

DT Haloti Ngata

12

Baltimore Ravens

_ _ _

GOING GLOBAL: At least eight players who hail from beyond the borders of the United States may be selected in the 2013 NFL Draft this week, including several who are likely to be chosen in the first round.

Top defensive end prospect BJOERN WERNER, a Berlin, Germany native, played football for the first time at age 15, but you’d never have known it watching him play at Florida State.

Werner was a unanimous All-America selection in 2012, also earning ACC Defensive Player of the year honors. His 23.5 career sacks rank fourth in school history.

After a brief basketball career at Marist College in New York, tackle MENELIK WATSON, a native of Manchester, England, tried football for the first time at Saddleback Junior College in California and found his calling.

Watson quickly earned a scholarship to Florida State, where he was a teammate of Werner’s in 2012. Despite playing in just his second season of organized football, Watson started 12 of 13 games last year and was recognized as an All-ACC honorable mention performer by the league’s coaches and media.

Estonia native MARGUS HUNT was a gold medalist in the shot put and discus at the 2006 World Junior Championships before moving to Texas to train with renowned Southern Methodist track coach Dave Wollman. But by the time Hunt arrived, SMU decided to drop its men’s track program. To help defray the costs of attending college, Hunt applied his athletic talents as a defensive end and quickly earned a football scholarship.

A regular contributor for the Mustangs each of the past three seasons, Hunt led the team with eight sacks as a senior. He also displayed an uncanny ability to contribute on special teams, setting the NCAA all-time record for blocked field goals/PATs (17 total).

Defensive end ZIGGY ANSAH, a Ghana native, was a walk-on at Brigham Young and played football for the first time when he suited up for the Cougars in 2010. After two seasons as a reserve, Ansah earned a starting job early in the 2012 season, finishing with 4.5 sacks and 13 tackles for loss.

Defensive tackle JESSE WILLIAMS, who was a member of two National Championship teams at Alabama, hails from Brisbane, Australia and grew up playing rugby. He came to love football as a teenager and traveled all the way to Arizona Western Community College, playing two seasons there before transferring to powerhouse Alabama and immediately earning a starting role.

Track and field star LAWRENCE OKOYE, who competed in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London and never played organized football at any level, has become a fast-rising NFL prospect at defensive end following a head-turning performance at the Super Regional Combine at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas earlier this month.

Okoye, who holds the all-time discus record for Great Britain, impressed with a 4.84 40-yard dash time in Dallas and standout performances in other drills despite his 6-6, 300-pound frame. He’s also an exemplary student and has deferred his admission to Oxford University, where he plans to study law in the future.

Jamaican-born TREVARDO WILLIAMS moved to Bridgeport, Connecticut at age 10 and went on to star at linebacker for nearby UConn. Williams is an impact pass rusher who totaled 30.5 career sacks for the Huskies, the most in school history.

Oklahoma’s TOM WORT, who hails from Crawley, England, moved to America at age 14 and eventually settled in Texas. He went on to become a three-year starter at linebacker for the Sooners, totaling 190 career tackles and earning honorable mention All-Big 12 honors in 2011.

A sampling of 2013 foreign-born NFL draft prospects:

2013 FOREIGN-BORN NFL DRAFT PROSPECTS

PLAYER

POSITION

COUNTRY

COLLEGE

Ziggy Ansah

Defensive End

Ghana

Brigham Young

Margus Hunt

Defensive End

Estonia

Southern Methodist

Lawrence Okoye

Defensive End

England

Oxford *

Menelik Watson

Tackle

England

Florida State

Bjoern Werner

Defensive End

Germany

Florida State

Jesse Williams

Defensive Tackle

Australia

Alabama

Trevardo Williams

Linebacker

Jamaica

Connecticut

Tom Wort

Linebacker

England

Oklahoma

* Deferred admission

_ _ _

MR. IRRELEVANT: The Indianapolis Colts will have the honor of selecting this year’s “Mr. Irrelevant” – a tongue-in-cheek title bestowed annually upon the last player chosen in the NFL Draft – with the 254th pick.

Over the past 37 years, Irrelevant Week, Inc. has donated more than $1 million to charitable organizations in the Southern California community. In 2013, the organization has named Special Olympics Southern California as their charitable recipient. Special Olympics provides year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual and physical disabilities.

Irrelevant Week was founded by PAUL SALATA, a former NFL player and Southern California businessman.

Several notable “Mr. Irrelevants” (active players in italics):

MR. IRRELEVANT

YEAR DRAFTED/TEAM

NOTES

QB Chandler Harnish, Indianapolis

2012 Indianapolis

37th Mr. Irrelevant. First Colts Mr. Irrelevant since its inception in 1976.

K Ryan Succop, Kansas City

2009 Kansas City

Set Chiefs rookie record with 25 field goals made in 2009.

WR Ryan Hoag

2003 Oakland

Signed with Jaguars after spending time with Giants, Redskins and Vikings. Appeared on ABC’s “The Bachelorette” in 2008.

S Mike Green

2000 Chicago

Started 48 games for Bears, Seahawks and Redskins in eight NFL seasons.

FB Jim Finn

1999 Chicago

Played six NFL seasons for Colts and Giants totaling 45 career starts.

LB Marty Moore

1994 New England

Played eight NFL seasons and became first “Mr. Irrelevant” to appear in the Super Bowl (XXXI with Patriots).

C Matt Elliott

1992 Washington

Started 14 games on inaugural Carolina Panthers team. Made 32 career starts.

QB Bill Kenney*

1978 Miami

Made the Pro Bowl in 1984 with the Chiefs and later became a Missouri State Senator.

WR Kelvin Kirk

1976 Pittsburgh

First annual “Mr. Irrelevant.” Played seven years in the CFL and later worked for the Ottawa Citizen.

*Kenney was named as a replacement for Lee Washburn who could not attend training camp due to a back injury.

_ _ _

FIRST-ROUND TRADES SINCE 1970

(Yearly totals can include future selections traded in previous years.)